Lipscomb tennis coach Andrew Harris announced the addition of Stuart Tierney and Daniel Hernandez to the Bisons program on Wednesday. Both Tierney and Hernandez signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Bisons, joining the team at the start of the 2011 Fall semester.

Tierney, a native of Hillsboro, Oregon, and Hernandez, of Friendswood, Texas, will join the seven returning Bisons from 2010-11 team that earned a No. 6 seed at the A-Sun Championships.

The coaching staff said the goal for this recruiting class was to build on the foundation of the last few years.

“On the men's side, we need to continue to build upon the last few recruiting classes in an effort to get in the upper tier of our conference,” Harris said. Coming off one of the most successful seasons is a great thing; however, the recruiting becomes that much more difficult since the margin of error is so slim when you start trying to compete in the upper third of the conference.”

“You must be very diligent and do your homework on each player to know that not only will they play at a high level but more importantly they will continue to follow in line with the vision the players before them have left.”

“Stuart and Daniel are two of the top-100 seniors coming out of high school. It speaks volumes of the work Mike Sherman and the seniors have done in building the program to where it is today. Due to recent success, we are now able to get these types of caliber players in our program.”

“Stuart and Daniel will prove to be great building blocks as we aim forward in the conference,” Harris said.

Tierney, a four-star recruit will provide the Bisons with a background in a high level of competition.

“Stuart has very high accolades and has competed in some of the strongest tournaments in the country,” Harris said.

“He plays more of an all-court style game but has the ability to change things up. He has the flexibility to adapt to different player’s styles. Stuart will be a great addition when competing against some of the tougher teams in the conference.”

Hernandez, also a four-star recruit, will bring an added spirit of fight and determination to the team.

“Daniel Hernandez will be very similar to (returning sophomore) David Salazar,” Harris said. “Both are from Texas, but more importantly, they both are great competitors. Daniel has a tremendous spirit about him that is very contagious, and he is certainly not afraid to dig in when needed.”

Harris said he is still looking to add one more recruit to next season’s roster, for a total of 10 players.

With the new additions and the returning line up, Harris said there will be a great opportunity for a new level of competition next season.

“I think with everyone returning from the starting line up from the spring in addition to the two or three new players, there will be some great competition come August,” Harris said.

“It will be exciting to see how the guys gel together and make sure the continuity with what we are doing remains consistent.”

Written by Ashlan Williams, student assistant in athletic media relations